Boyzone is a popular Irish boy band of the 1990s that reformed in 2007. They had major success in the UK and Ireland and differing levels of success in parts of Europe and Asia with six #1 hit singles in the UK. By 2007 they had sold over 15 million records.
Boyzone was put together in 1993 by Louis Walsh who is also known for managing Johnny Logan and Westlife. Before even recording any material they made a now infamous appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show. Their first album Said and Done was released in 1995 and the following two studio albums in 1996 and 1998.
Four compilation albums have been released, the latest being The Silver Collection in summer 2007.
Boyzone was formed in 1993 by Louis Walsh through an advertisement calling for auditions to form a new all-male 'boy band' vocal group: 'the Irish Take That'. About 300 singers tried out and initially, six were selected,Mark Walton , Richard Rock plus the others. They made their first appearance, only a day after being formed, on Ireland's top-rated Late Late Show dancing to a backing track before a somewhat bemused audience in a TV moment which has often been re-played to the embarrassment of the band members who later found fame.
With some of the original members fading away and others being brought into the group, it took some time before Boyzone settled down into its most recognisable five-member line-up of Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch. They played through 1993 and in the early parts of 1994 all over Ireland, mainly in pubs and clubs, before Polygram signed them up in 1994 and released the cover version of the Detroit Spinners' hit "Working My Way Back to You", featuring Graham and Gately on lead vocals. It reached No. 3 in the Irish Charts.
The release of their cover version of the classic Osmonds' hit, Love Me for a Reason, broke the British charts. The song hit No. 2 in the UK and was included in their 1995 hit debut album "Said and Done". The album reached the No. 1 spot in both UK and Ireland.
The band's second album - A Different Beat - was released in 1996 and contained their first UK number one single, a cover of the Bee Gees' hit "Words". The album also contained the hit singles A Different Beat, "Isn't It a Wonder" and "Picture of You" (which became the soundtrack of Mr. Bean, The Ultimate Disaster Movie). Ronan Keating - who by now had emerged as the band's lead singer and front-man - won the Ivor Novello award for songwriting in 1997 for "Picture of You".
Their third studio album, Where We Belong, was released in 1998 and featured Boyzone's writing abilities. It contained the hit singles "All That I Need" (which stayed for six weeks in the MTV Asia charts), "Baby Can I Hold You" and "No Matter What". Originally written for the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical Whistle Down the Wind, "No Matter What" was the group's best ever selling single and was voted Song of the Year, 1998.
In 1999, their greatest hits compilation - By Request - was released and was followed by another tour. At this time Stephen Gately revealed that he was gay and was in love with the ex-Caught in the Act member Eloy de Jong. It was also during this year when Ronan Keating released his first solo single, "When You Say Nothing at All". By this time, after six years together and amid growing tensions behind the scenes, the band members had decided to take some time off from Boyzone to pursue solo projects.
The group performed together for the last time in January 2000. What initially started on that (by now infamous) appearance on The Late Late Show, they had sold more than 10 million records in total. All sixteen of their singles reached the UK top five and they became the first Irish act to have four number one hits in the United Kingdom charts. Their 1998 tour of Ireland broke all sales records when 35,000 tickets were sold out in four hours. At their height, Boyzone were one of the biggest-selling artists in music.
The band has been commemorated by the London's Rock Circus by inviting them to place their hand prints on the "Walls of Hands" beside the likes of Eric Clapton and Michael Jackson.[citation needed] Also, wax figures of the boys were made beside U2 in Dublin.
Boyzone were always active supporters of charity works. They appeared on the Childliners record The Gift of Christmas alongside acts such as Backstreet Boys, MN8, E.Y.C., Sean Maguire, Deuce, Ultimate Kaos, Sonia, Heaven 17, Peter Andre, Michelle Gayle and Dannii Minogue.
For seven years after their split in 2000 the band members had mixed success in their individual careers. Keating in particular remained a force in the music industry as he continued writing and managing other bands. Gately also continued his career as a solo artist, appearing in a number of West End stage musicals, and Duffy had some success as an actor (including a role in the TV soap Coronation Street).
In the early 2000s Take That re-formed and had considerable success with some new record releases, a number of TV appearances and a national tour. Just as it had in the 1990s, the model of Take That proved an expample to Boyzone. Putting their differences aside, they announced in 2007 plans for a re-union tour the following year.
The Boyzone re-union tour began on May 25, 2008 at The Odyssey Arena in Belfast and was extended to three months. Sugababes were forced to pull out as the support act for the first Dublin concert because of illness. Laura Critchley took their place.
Band members
Ronan Keating 1993-2000,2007-
Stephen Gately 1993-2000,2007-
Mikey Graham 1993-2000,2007-
Shane Lynch 1993-2000,2007-
Keith Duffy 1993-2000,2007-
